WARNING: This story contains emotional details that may be difficult for some people to read
The collision happened on 4A Avenue near 35 Street. The child was in a cul-de-sac in Kiniski Gardens, a Mill Woods neighbourhood, playing with his six-year-old brother and seven-year-old friend Friday night when tragedy struck.
“Parker was playing outside with his big brother and a friend, enjoying the summer sun without a worry in the world,” his aunt, Felicia Ferguson, wrote in a GoFundMe post.
“It happened so fast, in a matter of seconds when Parker was running with his brother and bolted out between two cars to try and catch him.”
READ MORE: Four-year-old Edmonton boy dies after colliding with car while he was out playing
Ferguson said her sister and her partner rushed to the child’s side and called 911. Police said the call came in around 8:20 p.m., after the child collided with the rear side of a Mazda3.
“She didn’t know that the last few minutes of his life would be spent lying with him on the pavement trying to comfort him as he struggled to breathe.
“My sister pleaded for him to hold on, but God had other plans.”
Officers believe the child’s head hit the pavement. Police said the boy’s injuries were not consistent with being run over by a vehicle.
“Emergency respondents acted quickly and they tried for over an hour to resuscitate our sweet baby boy, but were unsuccessful due to the severity of his injuries,” his aunt wrote.
The four-year-old boy was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the Stollery Children’s Hospital.
“My sister rocked his lifeless body for hours devastated and in shock, sobbing hysterically because all she wanted to do was bring her baby home,” Ferguson wrote.
“An event like this is unimaginable. What do you say to a mother who has just lost their pride and joy? How do you comfort someone who has just lost their baby boy; someone whose life has been turned upside down and in the matter of a second. I can’t even begin to imagine or understand what she is going through. The pain, anguish, guilt, and sorrow is eating her up…all she can do is cling to the only son she has left, trying to hold back tears and explain to Cohen why Parker isn’t coming home.”
READ MORE: Heart-stopping dashcam video captures close call between little boy and van in Edmonton
Ferguson said the hardest part of losing someone “isn’t having to say goodbye, but rather learning to live without them.”
She said she created the GoFundMe to help her sister, a single mother, with funeral costs that are expected to range between $8,000 and $10,000, adding, “You never expect to have to pay for a funeral, she didn’t budget to bury her little boy.”
As of 11:45 a.m. Monday, the GoFundMe was 73 per cent towards its $10,000 goal.
“I want my sister to be able to heal and spend time with the son she has left and not worry about how they will pay for food next week. I want her to be able to take the time she needs to mourn the loss of her son, her baby boy.”
There’s no word on when the funeral will be.
WATCH BELOW: Neighbours in the Kiniski Gardens community are mourning the loss of a four-year-old boy who died after colliding with a vehicle Friday night while playing with friends in a cul-de-sac. Sarah Kraus reports.
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